


Slide Show

by TheWeaponIAmToday



Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Canon Het Relationship, Dorkiness, Drama, Epic Friendship, F/M, Het, Het and Slash, High School, M/M, Male Slash, Romance, Slash, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Teenagers, Unrequited Love, orphanhood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-03
Updated: 2014-06-13
Packaged: 2018-02-03 06:57:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1735361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeaponIAmToday/pseuds/TheWeaponIAmToday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High School AU. What more can I say?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I've wanted to write an X-Men High School AU for ages, so here I am, trying. My first chapter is always weak/short and I am never good at updating regularly (if it's wanted), but I'm giving it a shot and I promise it gets better! I hope you enjoy it :)

 Raven stood in the doorway, watching the two boys as they worked. Charles was looking over something in a textbook while Hank frantically scribbled in his notebook, pausing every few moments to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. Charles's room was big enough that she couldn't be seen by the two from where they were seated on his bed, though they were too distracted to notice her, anyway. There was never a time Hank and Charles were without a science project; they had done enough to account for every student in the class, and got full marks every time. And they were only three weeks into the semester. Their teacher, of course, was thrilled. The other students, not so much.

 Raven strode into the room and sat herself right between the two boys on the bed.

"It's Saturday," she reminded them. "Can't we do something more fun?"

"We, ah, have to f-finish this project tonight," Hank stuttered, keeping his eyes fixed on his notebook. He never really looked at Raven when he could avoid it. He was worried he'd trip over his words even more than he already did in her presence.

"Then we can rest tomorrow. You know that's how we work," Charles said, smiling at Raven. She pouted.

"But  _I_  never have anything to do," she replied.

"Raven, the more you interrupt us, the slower we'll be at getting this done," Charles warned.

"Will you be long?"

"It should just be, um, an hour or so now," Hank answered.

"And if you leave us be for just that long, I promise I'll watch a movie with you later." After a moment of silence from Raven, Charles added, "And we can order pizza."

"Fine," Raven said, standing up from the bed. "I suppose you'll be wanting milk and cookies to help you work," she said sarcastically.

"Cookies?" Hank said, looking up expectantly as Charles said, "Milk?" Raven looked at them in surprise.

"Are you kidding? What are you, eight?" Hank's cheeks turned slightly pink, and he looked back down at his notebook. Raven sighed and crossed her arms. "I get to pick the movie," she said firmly, turning and making her way towards the door.

"Thank you!" Charles called after her. "You can stay for the movie, too, if you like," he said to Hank. Raven smiled to herself as Hank agreed to stay, before going into the kitchen to begin searching for cookies.

 Charles entered the kitchen a few moments later, and opened the cupboard which contained the biscuits almost immediately. Raven, who was crouching awkwardly on a counter to look around in a higher cupboard, frowned down at him.

"You could have told me you knew where they were," she mumbled. She climbed down from the counter and went to get three glasses.

"I didn't want to make you carry everything," Charles explained, gesturing to the unsteady way she was carrying the glasses while they were still empty. Raven frowned again. "Also," he began, getting the milk out of the fridge and making sure not to look Raven in the eye, "I just wanted to say that you should be careful with Hank." There was a moment of painful silence before Raven spoke.

"I'm not sure what you mean," she said quietly. Charles avoided her eyes as he began to fill the glasses she had set down on the table.

"Well, I think you've probably noticed that he's... fond of you. And I know that you're quite fond of him, but he's not very good at, er, people. So just watch how you go, I suppose." Raven tried to ignore the burning feeling in her cheeks as she wondered where Charles had gotten either of those ideas.

"He's not 'fond of me'," she protested, almost too quietly for Charles to hear. Charles finally looked up at this.

"Raven, my dear, you are many things, but I know that blind is not one of them," he replied. He held her gaze for a moment before returning the milk to the fridge, taking the biscuits and two glasses and leaving the room. Raven picked up the remaining glass and took a sip, sitting down at the table as she did so. Then she took out her phone and dialled her best friend's number, holding her breath until she heard Leila's voice on the other end. She let her breath out in a sigh and spoke.

"I've been figured out..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for your kind words and kudos! :) Here is chapter 2, hope you enjoy!

 This was it. His first test. He was supposed to prove himself, show those - those  _people_  that he wasn't the imbecile they treated him like. Erik refused to let the term "parents" enter his mind; whether or not "foster" preceded it, the thought disgusted him. He'd lost his parents a long time ago.

 Erik looked down at the exam paper that had been returned to him, glaring at the red  _F_  scrawled in the top right corner. His first test, failed. Sure, he'd have more, in subjects he was capable of doing, but for now the chemistry test was all he'd done in an attempt to prove his brains, and he'd gotten a sodding  _F_. He clenched his fists under the table and stared at the clock above the blackboard, willing the class to end as soon as possible. With ten minutes left to go, he fought back the tears triggered solely by anger - Erik Lehnsherr most certainly was  _not_  upset about failing a stupid test - and blocked out the sound of the teacher's voice as she went over the answers to each separate question. She in turn had learned to block Erik out, as had most of his fellow students, within his first few days in the school. They knew that if he didn't want to talk, he shouldn't be disturbed. And they hadn't even seen him angry yet.

 The anger was building steadily as Erik sat, watching the second hand the clock tick painfully slowly. He had set himself one job, one test, and he hadn't even been able to do it. In fact, with such a bad grade they would probably think he was actually unintelligent. It's not like it was his fault that he missed out on the first year of high school. Well, not entirely.  It would have been hard enough to start as a sophomore if he didn't have to go home every day and be treated like a kid.

 By the time the bell rang, Erik was furious, and he made his way from the room swiftly, test in hand, before most of the other students began returning their belongings to their bags. He made his way to the boys' toilets, startling a freshman who was on his way out, stormed into a cubicle without bothering to lock it and kicked the seat closed so he could sit down. He did so, his head in his hands and his test at his feet, and wondered desperately what he was going to do about his situation.

* * *

 

 Charles watched the new boy flee the chemistry lab, looking for all the world like he was off to commit a homicide. However, Charles also saw a slight glimmer in his eye - one that may have been caused by tears, were it in anyone else's eye. Charles threw his bag over his shoulder and made his way out of the room, seeing the new boy duck into the bathrooms just as he began walking to his next class. He slowed, frowning. What had gotten that boy so upset, and why was nobody helping? Charles didn't even know his name; just knew that he was new this year, and German. Well, and quiet, isolated. And apparently friendless, which was quite the predicament for anyone to be in.

 As he passed the door to the bathroom, Charles paused. Surely it wouldn't be unforgivably strange for him to check up on the boy, would it? Just ask him if he needed any help. Yes, that was acceptable. Or it was to Charles, at least.

 The door squeaked when Charles pushed it open, and he found when he looked around that the bathroom was empty. That is, apart from a heavy breathing coming from the second cubicle. He approached it slowly, realising suddenly that he hadn't thought his idea through and had no idea what to say. He found himself standing in front of the cubicle, which the boy had neglected to close the door of.

 The boy looked up almost immediately, pulling his head from his hands.

"Who are you?" he asked defensively.

"Charles Xavier," Charles replied simply.

"What are you doing here?" The boy sounded angry, though Charles supposed he didn't blame him.

"I - I was wondering what had you upset," Charles said, less sure of himself than he had been mere moments ago. The boy sighed, and his expression softened ever so slightly.

"I just failed the stupid test," he admitted. "I needed to do well and I bloody failed!" He returned his head to his hands and kicked the test towards Charles's feet, so he could see for himself. Charles leaned down to pick it up, and after a moment of deliberation, sat down on the floor in front of the boy.

"You can't pass everything, you know," Charles said. "It's just the first test." The boy scoffed.

"Easy for you to say. You're a genius," the boy said, somewhat bitterly. Charles frowned, wondering where he'd gotten that information, and rummaged in his bag for a geography test he'd gotten the day before. Once he'd found it, he held it out to the boy.

"Science is my strongest point, but I'm not good at everything," Charles said quietly. The boy looked up again, seeing the  _E_  at the top of Charles's paper.

"I used to be top of my geography class, when I studied it," the boy said, glancing up at Charles.

"You have your tricks, I have mine," Charles said, smiling slightly.

"I guess so," the boy replied, not returning the smile, but letting his angry expression slip almost entirely away. "Charles, was it?" Charles nodded. "I'm Erik." He held his hand out tentatively, and Charles shook it.

"Nice to meet you," he said, sincerely.

"You too. And thank you," Erik added. "I thought I was alone in this place."

"You're not alone," Charles said instantly. "Erik, you're not alone." He smiled, and although it wasn't returned completely, he could see the sentiment in Erik's eyes when he nodded in response.

"We'd better get ourselves to class," Charles said after a moment, returning his geography test to his bag.

"Right," Erik said, looking like he'd just lost a train of thought. He grabbed his bag and test from the ground and stood up, extending a hand out to Charles to help him up. Charles took it and muttered a quick thank you before they exited the bathroom to a worryingly empty corridor.

"I guess I'll see you around," Erik said, beginning to slowly back down the corridor to the right.

"See you," Charles replied, before making his way to the left. Both were a full five minutes late to their class, but neither minded - Charles was proud of having helped someone in need, and Erik thought that perhaps failing his first chemistry test hadn't gone quite as badly as he anticipated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, thank you all for all the love!! It really makes my day! :) Here's the next chapter, with more of an introduction to my OC. Also, I'm a little in love with tea, I don't know if it shows... :P Anyway, enjoy!

 Charles and Hank set their trays down across from Raven and Leila, stopping whatever hushed conversation the girls had been having. The slight smirk on Leila's face when he and Hank sat down made Charles sure that the conversation had been about his best friend; that and the way Raven carefully avoided eye contact with either boy left little room for doubt. He also decided that this meant the responsibility of conversation starting probably went to him.

"Hello," Charles said in his ever friendly tone. His smile caused the usual gentle blush from Leila, which had never gone unnoticed, but always unspoken.

"Hey," she replied. "How was your morning?"

"Good," Charles said, taking a sip of tea from his ever present flask. "We handed our project in to our biology teacher."

"The one you wasted Saturday doing?" Raven asked, still looking at her lunch rather than any of the others.

"The very one," Charles replied.

"Genetics, I guess?" Leila asked. Charles smiled again.

"Of course."

The four sat in near silence as they finished their lunch, the only conversation provided by Charles and Leila, as Raven dipped in every now and again. Hank stayed quiet as usual, sneaking glances at Raven when he thought nobody was looking. Noticing Hank's antics, Charles sighed softly.

"Leila, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked, turning towards her. Her surprise was clear on her face.

"Er, sure," she said, somewhat warily. Charles stood - taking his flask, of course - and Leila followed him to the other side of the cafeteria. They leaned against the wall beside the vending machine, and Leila looked at Charles expectantly after a moment of silence.

"I just wanted them to talk," Charles said with a slight smirk, gesturing to Hank and Raven. Leila smiled.

"Fair enough. They're bloody irritating," she replied. Charles laughed lightly.

"And it's only gotten worse recently," he said.

"It's the freshman pressure on Raven, I'm sure, it leaks into everything," Leila said sarcastically.

"Oh, definitely. Or maybe it's just the whole year she's spent doing nothing about her crush." Charles took another sip of his tea.

"A year's not so bad..." Leila said, shrugging. Charles raised an eyebrow.

"It's quite a long time," he countered. "You know she's not usually this bad."

"Well, that's true. I guess she's just scared because she really likes him." Charles laughed.

"Nothing about Hank is remotely scary," he said, grinning.

"I've tried telling Raven that!" Leila insisted. "Ten years of friendship and she still won't listen to me."

"I'm her older brother and she doesn't listen," Charles said. "She's stubborn when she wants to be."

"Definitely," Leila agreed with a sigh. She glanced over at the table where Hank and Raven were still sitting to see them looking at each other for once, seeming to be having a shy conversation. Leila smiled and nudged Charles gently with her elbow, then nodded towards the two. Charles followed her gaze and smiled as well.

"I do love it when my plans work," he said, looking pleased with himself. "Maybe I should abandon them more. Goodness knows Hank is over all the time."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Leila said. "He's over nearly every time I'm there now, I'm sure you'll have plenty of opportunities."

"I assume you'll help with my dastardly schemes?" Charles asked, a mischievous look crossing over his face.

"Of course," Leila replied, grinning.

As she said this, a boy she didn't recognise approached them to get a drink out of the vending machine. Charles watched him out of the corner of his eye, and once the boy had retrieved his can he looked up at Charles and nodded politely.

"Charles," he said in greeting.

"Erik," Charles replied, returning the nod. With that brief exchange, Erik left. It was the first time they had spoken since the meeting in the bathroom two days before.

"He's quite handsome," Leila said without thinking. Once she realised her words, she felt herself blush. Charles simply shrugged and brought his flask to his lips once more.

"He's in my chemistry class," he said after a moment, though there was no need to offer an explanation, and held his flask of tea out to Leila. She took a drink, grateful since she never brought her own tea to school, and mumbled a quick thanks before handing it back.

"I don't think I've seen him around before," Leila said, glancing over to where Erik was sitting alone with a book.

"He's quiet. Keeps to himself," Charles explained. "He's new this year."

"We should have him over," she said casually. Charles stared at her, stuck between shock at the abruptness of her suggestion and a warmth due to the way she'd implied they had they same home - though he did suppose she'd practically lived with him and Raven for as long as he could remember. At the look on his face, Leila explained, "He looks lonely." Charles couldn't disagree with that.

"It might be a bit odd to do that out of the blue," he replied.

"Have a party, then. It's nearly your birthday, after all," Leila said. "Do, actually, a party would be great fun!"

"You know I'm not a party person," Charles said, almost shyly.

"But I also know that if I suggest it to Raven, she'll make it happen," Leila reminded him with a smirk. Charles sighed.

"You're so difficult," he mumbled.

"Love you too," she said, grinning now.

 They both let their gazes drift back to Hank and Raven, who were now talking with smiles on their faces and much less awkwardness. The bell rang a moment later, and Leila didn't hesitate to tease Raven all the way to their next class, thrilled when she managed to make her friend's cheeks turn pink.


End file.
